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Orpington

The original Orpington, the Black, was developed in England in 1886 and brought to the US in...
Pros: Big birds, fairly friendly. Lets you grab them and hold them.
Cons: Roo's are aggressive but not too bad.
I got a Buff Orp roo. Hes a great guy. Though he does like to fight with your shoes sometimes but he will let us hold him and doesn't fuss. Seams to like it actually lol. We can catch him easily by hand. No net needed like some of my other birds. This guy really rides the hens though and wears their feathers out so he's separate as our 'watch rooster'. Very nice looking birds, fairly plain but not ugly by any means.

I would recommend these to any one who wants good size birds.
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Pros: Nice layer, very pretty
Cons: Aggressive roosters
We have 10 Buff Orpingtons and we really like them. They are super good foragers and do really well as free range. We had 30 chickens total 10 RIR, 10 BR, 10 Buff Opringtons, but something we think coyotes got 2 BR and 2 RIR, which to me tells me what good instincts the Buff Oprtingtons have. They'er not overly friendly birds, they will tolerate you catching them and looking the over, but other than that I don't have any buffs who want to cuddle or anything like some of the reviews. They were the second breed of my birds to lay only second to the BR and they lay really nice pinkish-brown eggs.
I ended up with two roo's out of my pullet run and they're beautiful and really good roo's. They take care of their hens and show them where and what to eat and are always keeping an eye out for predators, but they have steadily gotten aggressive. They do back down if you get after them so that's nice, but you can't really ever turn your back on them because I've been attacked several times that way.
Other than the rather ornery roo's I would say that the Orpingtons are an over all good breed of chicken.
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Pros: Friendly, lots off eggs, pretty birds
Cons: Broody
I love my buff orpington hens! One of them has been jumping on my lap for petting since it was just a little chick, I would be heart broken if anything happened to her, she is considered a pet and part of the family. However, her sister, although usually calm and friendly, can be a pain because she goes broody so often! She will sit in her nest box all day, and she isnt quick to break her broodiness ! But when not broody, I get 4-7 eggs a week from each of my two girls.
Overall, this is my favorite breed of chicken, just because how friendly my little Gin is !
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Pros: Beautiful, Big, Quiet and Friendly!
Cons: Some are a little timid and require extra attention, but that's to be expected IMO!
I'd like to start off by saying there is no specific breed called a Buff Orpington, and I get annoyed when people say "Don't you mean you have Buff Orpingtons, not just Orpingtons?" NO! Buff is a COLOR! Anyway, rant over. I love my Orps. My first chickens were Orp pullets and they're very fun birds. I can't wait for them to start laying. They aren't quite as inquisitive as my leghorns - they're happy to keep to themselves but don't freak out when you come near them either. I"m told they should be fairly productive birds when it comes to laying!
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Pros: Friendly, approachable
Cons: Eats more
I have 6 chicks as of now: 2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Rhode Islands, 1 Plymouth Rock and 1 unidentifiable.

The Buffs are the most approachable and the largest. They are reasonably active and noise level is a lot less than Plymouth Rocks.
They certainly eat more than the rest and are also larger than everyone else. Mine are only about 6+ weeks and so, I cannot comment on their egg-laying capabilities yet.

In terms of intelligence, they were one of the first ones to learn how to use the chicken nipple water dispensers. The Rocks were first to pick it up.

I am not sure whether this is an individual personality but both my Buffs are pretty confident birds and lead the rest of the flock.

Based on my experience with these two Buffs, they are the quietest among the 6 chickens. They do not whine when kept in the coop+run for longer periods of time.



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Pros: Good Egg Laying, Friendly, Follow me for food.
Cons: none
These birds are very smart and have a lot of great qualities than other chickens. Be sure to purchase one of these.
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Purchase Date
2013-05-02
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Pros: Very friendly, great pet.
Cons: None.
Buff Orpingtons are adorable, fluffy chickens who make great pets! I have one named Sunny. Due to an injury, she no longer lays. She used to daily. I consider her more of a cat than a chicken!
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Pros: large beautiful birds
Cons: so far skiddish
I got my buff's about a week ago and they are well chicken lol. talk about filling a role, slowly getting better, they are getting more friendly but still hesitant.
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Pros: Calm, Gentle, good with children
Cons: Not the best layers, get very dirty when it rains
I have been keeping buff orpingtons for a while now and I find them a very calm and friendly breed. They are fair layers compaired to some of my other breeds but not the worst I have had. The hens are good broodies and mothers and cockerels can be trusted to not fight with other cockerels or attack children. They are hard to keep clean but are very good for shows. They arent the best someone who wants buckets of eggs but are good for a family who want pets as well as eggs. In sum they are a friendly, calm breed that lay a fair amount of eggs.
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Pros: friendly, well-mannered, absolutly gorgeous!
Cons: big, heavey, when my rooster tries to mount the bantie hens that we have, he squashes them:(
I LOVE my Buff Orpington rooster! He is so friendly and nice. I caught him the other day and was holding him. He got startled and picked my hand, but very gently. It didnt hurt at all! But when I tried to handle one of our Old English Game roosters, he picked my hand really hard and left a great big sore that hurt for days. Meadowhawk (my Orpington rooster) is really just a gentle giant. The lady that I bought him from said that he was getting picked on and she didnt want to have to kill any of her other roosters. He was still a chick then. Now he puts a run on the mean rooster, the one that pecked me. (by the way, that mean bantie rooster is called Wostershire) I'm trying to get some Orpington hens for Meadowhawk.
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Pros: smart. quick learners. loving. hardy. self reliant
Cons: none
My buffs are family. They get along with our cats our neighbors cats and the chickens next door. My dh loves them. They learned my truck the first day they saw me drive away and ran out to me when I came home. I was badly hurt a couple of weeks ago and laid on the ground screaming (a proud moment). My buffs ran over to me and my closest (I don't have a favorite) stood on my chest protecting me. When my husband was able to get me into the house she followed us and got up on my chest and pressed her breast against my cheek. She did this again later when she heard me cry out. I love my Buffs and my best friend got Buffs after meeting mine. I also have Lavenders from Hinks a chocolate bantam and a black bantam.
At our house Orps rule. I am so glad I got Orps and I need to credit 2 Backyard Chicken members one who posted a video of her henny penny's coming when she called and one who posted photos of her Buffs with her beautiful girls swimming sledding and just hanging out
Buy Buffs you won't regret it.
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Pros: Independent
Cons: cranky brooder
Buffy is our only Orpington. She is independent, lower on the pecking order, but big, fluffy and likes to cluck. She lays frequently when not broody. She's my only brooder so far that I have to watch my fingers; she's a cranky girl!
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Pros: Pretty colors, good tempered once they come into lay, CRAZY broody (could be pro or con)
Cons: CRAZY Broody, aggressive to other chickens,
I have owned three Buff Orps so far, one of which is still alive. They are bad tempered until they begin to lay, at which point they become friendly. If you don't want a broody hen within one month of her starting laying, though, don't get them. They would probably try to hatch a rock if they could. My girl Sunshine is a pretty good hen, and very dominant, but can be aggressive to other chickens, especially around food.
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Pros: calm, friendly, pretty
Cons: none
She is by far my favorite of my five hens. She loves to be held and when I'm in the coop, she leans on me until I pick her up. She is the last one out of the coop. The others fly out and she stands in the doorway, sizes things up then walks down the ramp. She is liked by the flock and she favors the Black Australorp. These two big girls sleep, eat and take dust baths together. Still too young to produce eggs.
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Pros: docile, good layers
Cons: broody
I have 13 Buff Orpington chicken. They are great! They follow me everywhere I go. They only problem I have had is one hen is very broody and dosnt like me to much right now. Othe than that there awesome!!
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Pros: Docile, friendly lap chickens, good layers all winter (with extra light), hearty
Cons: none so far
I have 5 hens and 8 pullets and love them all. The pullets at 4 weeks were already showing that they were growing into lap chickens. They are friendly even to strangers and are good with the kids.
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Pros: Beautiful, pleasant, docile, smart
We have two Orps at the moment and they are so wonderful! Millie jumps up on my back and is as curious and intelligent as ever a hen I saw. And then, MayBelle, is the mama brooder who loves showing how protective she is. Both seek affection constantly, and love being with us!





Here are our two girls.
Purchase Date
2009-05-28
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Pros: doesn't peck; doesn't get pecked at, good egg layer, docile
Cons: always scrunches down and doesn't run when danger is nearby
I got one of these in may last year and she was docile from the beginning. We have never gotten a double yolk egg from her. she always lets you pick her up and will perch on your shoulder without becoming fiesty. she is escpecially good with small children who are gentle. very good breed, you should definately get them if you don't already. they really add some color to your flock
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Pros: friendliest, gentle, good egglayer, perfect!
Cons: get picked on
Buff orpingtons are the sweetest! Ruthie loves to be carried around the yard, ride the bike, and go sledding! She follows me around like a puppy! The only downside is that she gets picked on by the others, though our other buff was at the top of the pecking order (and the 2 of them were best friends). I would recommend them as the perfect family pet chickens!
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